Second Chance for Romance

Chapter 20

The Land Cruiser’s headlights swung past the sign for McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base. I pulled to a stop at the gate and rolled down the window.

“Good evening, sir. May I see your ID?”

Christy leaned over. “We’re looking for Captain Danny Carmichael. He’s a Marine.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The airman—who couldn’t have been a day older than me

—turned and gestured at the guard station. “He’s been waiting.”

Christy squealed when a blond man stepped out. He was wearing a green pilot’s jumpsuit and leather flight jacket. She leapt out of the Cruiser and ran to the guard station, where she threw her arms around his neck. He picked her up and swung her around.

“Birdy! It’s great to see you. Thanks for coming.” After a moment he set her down and pulled his cap out of a thigh pocket. He told the airman he’d be back in about an hour. They exchanged salutes, and Danny followed Christy to the open passenger door.

“You sit up front with Paul,” she said. She hopped into the back and immediately thrust her head and shoulders over the front seat.

He climbed into the car, closed the door, and then he held out his hand.

“Danny Carmichael.”

“Paul Hughes.”

His grip was firm and self-assured.

The airman gestured for me to pull forward. “You can turn around past the gate, sir.”

“Roger. Thanks.” After I did, I looked at my passengers. “Where to?”

“I’m starving,” Danny said. “Have you eaten yet?”

Christy simply grinned at him.

“I’ll take that as a no.” He glanced at me. “You have a preference?”

I shook my head.

“Something chicken or fish,” he said. “I don’t care.”

“Danny’s a Buddhist too,” Christy said.

“I’m not a Buddhist, Birdy. And neither are you, for that matter. I eat like one, but I’m still a good Catholic. A little lapsed, maybe, but Mom won’t have to disown me or anything.”

I spotted a sign and pointed. “How about Red Lobster?”

“Perfect.”

I pulled into the parking lot. The restaurant was nearly empty, so they seated us immediately. Christy slid into the booth next to Danny and bounced like a kid on Christmas.

“It’s so great to see you!”

“Great to see you too, kiddo,” he said.

The waitress arrived to take our drink orders.

“May I have a glass of wine?” Christy asked. “White.”

“Beer for me,” Danny said. “Draft. Michelob or Miller.”

“I’ll have a Coke,” I said.

“Coca-Cola? Dr. Pepper? Sprite? Orange?”

“Coca-Cola, please.”

She wrote it down. “Be right back.”

“Sorry we were late,” I said to Danny after she’d gone.

“That’s okay.” He laughed. “I know how Birdy is about time. I asked at the duty desk, and they said UT is about thirty minutes up the road. So I hadn’t been waiting long.”

“Birdy?” I said.

“Short for Tweety Bird. Harry started it when she was little, and the name kinda stuck.”

“It’s ’cause I’m so cute.”

“I see the resemblance.” I grinned at her. “I’m learning all kinds of nicknames for you today.” I turned to Danny. “The guys in the art department call her Little B.”

“B for Birdy?”

“Bernini.”

“Don’t know him.”

“Famous sculptor. Baroque. Incredibly talented.”

“That’s our Birdy,” Danny said. “Started drawing almost before she could walk.”

She blushed at the praise.

We fell silent for a moment, until Danny gave me a piercing look.

“So, you’re Paul.”

“That’s the rumor.”

He glanced at Christy. “Mom said you started dating again.”

I shot her a look, which she avoided.

The waitress saved her. She delivered the drinks and pulled out her order pad. “You know what you want to eat?”

Danny smiled at her, and I studied him as he did. He was impossibly good-looking, with short blond hair, straight white teeth, and eyes the color of sapphires instead of Christy’s baby blue. He was taller than me and slimmer, with a swimmer’s build compared to my wrestler’s physique.

“We don’t have much time,” he told the waitress. “Is the special any good?”

“Filet of sole.” She nodded. “Pretty good, yeah.”

“I’ll have that with rice and vegetables,” he said.

“Same for me, please,” Christy said.

“Make it three, I guess.”

“Okay. I’ll put your order in.”

Danny took a sip of beer and leaned back in the booth.

I returned his look without challenge, but without backing down either.

“Birdy says you’re going to be an architect.”

“That’s the plan.”

He regarded me with a friendly smile. “You’re a cool one. I’ll give you that.”

“I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight.”

“So you’re on your guard? Not a bad idea. But I’m not the one you have to watch out for.” He grinned at Christy. “Dad and Rich are.”

“Oh my gosh. Don’t remind me.”

“Our dad isn’t the protective type,” he said to me, “but she’s his only daughter. Not to mention his favorite. And Rich…? Well, Rich doesn’t like anyone. He’s just mean.”

“He is not!” Christy said. “Don’t say that.”

“Yeah, I know. I just like teasing you.” He gave me a conspiratorial wink.

“But you have to admit, Birdy… Rich hasn’t liked a single guy you’ve ever dated.”

“He’s just protective. He loves me.”

“Yeah, I know. But he doesn’t think you know how to use the brains God gave you.”

“What do you think?” I asked coolly.

“I think she has a good head on her shoulders. She doesn’t have a clue about time or money, but that isn’t really her fault. The rest of us always took care of her. I guess that’s what you get when five older brothers raise you.”

He abruptly fell silent. Then he clenched his jaw and fiddled with the salt shaker.

I took a sudden interest in a ring of water on the table.

“I know,” Christy said softly. “Me too.”

He put his arm around her and squeezed. She hugged him back, and they sat in silence for a moment. Then he cleared his throat.

“So,” he said, in control once more, “Birdy says you’re a pilot.”

“Yeah. Civil. Obviously.”

“Obviously.” He grinned. “How come you didn’t go military, like your dad?”

“You know about my dad?”

“Oh, we know all about you,” he said with a friendly laugh. “The Carmichael grapevine has been on fire since Birdy started telling us about you.”

I shot her another look, which she also avoided.

“I wanted the pleasure of meeting you first, before the others scare you off.”

“I don’t scare very easily.”

He laughed again. “You haven’t met Dad. Or Rich.”

“Daddy will love him.”

“Rich won’t.” He grinned at me. “Rich is the family Mikey. He hates everything.”

“He does not! He’s just…”

“Disagreeable. So,” Danny repeated, “how come you didn’t join the military? I’m just curious, mind. But you’d better come up with a good answer before you meet Dad. He’s serious about it.”

“I never really thought about it,” I admitted. “I mean, I did, but never

seriously. I guess I always wanted to build things.”

Danny grinned. “Targets, you mean.”

“No, buil— Ah, I get it. Funny.”

“You’re right,” he said to Christy. “He’s a sharp one.”

“Leave him alone. You’re talking like we’re already married. We just started… um…” She looked down and finished in a small voice, “Dating.”

My eyebrows flew up in amusement. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

She gave me a pleading look.

“Oh, dating!” I said. “Right. Yeah, we just started dating. A little while ago.” Like, ten minutes.

Danny laughed and read me perfectly. “So you aren’t really?”

“We’re just good friends at the moment. We have a lot in common. And we like spending time together. So… yeah, I could see us dating. One day. In the future.”

“Well, that’s good to know. Birdy tends to get ahead of herself sometimes. The last guy was engaged before he realized it.”

“He was not!” she protested. “Simon asked me.”

“Whatever you say, Birdy-bird.” He drank some beer and gestured with the glass. “But I’m glad you dumped him. He was smart enough, but kind of a pantywaist if you ask me.”

“Not that anyone did,” Christy muttered.

Danny and I shared a grin.

“Did you ever meet him?” he asked me.

“Before my time.” I took a sip of Coke to cover my amusement at Christy’s discomfort.

“You didn’t miss anything.”

She sat up indignantly.

“Oh, relax,” Danny said. “No one liked him.”

“I did.” In a small voice she added, “I just didn’t love him.”

“I know, kiddo,” he said gently. “We didn’t really make it easy on him, either. I’m sorry about that.”

“Can we change the subject?”

“Sure,” he said with a recruiting-poster smile. “I have some news. Just for you.”

“What? Is it a surprise? Does it have anything to do with Sabrina?”

“My girlfriend,” Danny said for my benefit. Then he grinned sidelong at Christy. “Soon to be my fiancée. If I’m lucky.”

“You mean it? She’s going to be my new sister-in-law?”

“If she says yes.”

“You know she will, Danny. I’m so happy for you!”

“I’m going to ask over Thanksgiving.” He raised his beer. “Holy matrimony, here I come!” He clinked glasses with Christy and me. “Seems a shame to toast without alcohol. You want some beer? Wine? Whiskey?”

“To be honest,” I said, “I’m afraid I’d fall asleep. I’ve had a pretty long day already.”

He nodded. “I’m only drinking because I’m a passenger. I can sleep the rest of the flight.”

The food arrived and we started eating.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” I said to Danny, “why are you here?”

“Oh, yeah! I guess I haven’t told you yet. Been so busy interrogating you and teasing Birdy that I forgot.”

I couldn’t help but like the guy.

“The Beirut bombing has everyone scrambling,” he explained. “The situation’s still pretty gnarly, from what we hear. The powers-that-be put us on alert to deploy. So I’m headed to El Toro with another pilot to ferry a couple of planes back to Cherry Point. We hitched a ride on an Air Force bird, and I told the crew that my baby sister is at school in Knoxville.”

“So they scheduled a refueling stop?”

“Not quite. They engineered a mechanical problem and made an unscheduled landing. But this is the Air Force we’re talking about. I’m sure someone had to pick up a case of Jack Daniel’s for a general or drop off a colonel’s golf clubs.” He looked at his watch. “I hate to cut things short, but we’d better eat up. I need to get back. The flight crew already delayed things longer than they said they could.”

We finished our food and asked for the check. I was closest to the waitress when she brought it, so I managed to snag it before Danny could.

“Are you sure?” he said.

“No problem.”

“Let me pay for Birdy and me, at least.”

“Thanks, but I got it. I mean…” I shot her a smile. “If we’re dating, I’m supposed to pay anyway.”

“See?” Christy told him. “He’s a gentleman.”

“Well, I’m also trying to impress your brother.”

He arched an eyebrow.

“Never hurts to have a friend in the family.”

“Oh, Birdy,” he said with a laugh, “he’s a keeper.” He was still smiling when he turned to me. “Not that you need it, but you officially have my blessing to date my sister.” He put his arm around her and hugged. “It was great to see you, kiddo. I’m sorry it wasn’t longer.”

“That’s okay. It was great to see you too.”

“Want me to give you a few minutes?” I asked. “I don’t mind.”

He shook his head and looked at his watch. Then he drained his beer.

“We’d better book it.”

We drove him back to the base and pulled up to the guard station. I rolled down my window.

The same airman looked across me. “Good evening, Captain. The crew from your plane has a jeep waiting for you.” He looked at me. “Sir, if you’ll pull inside the gate and park next to the office, you can let the captain out there.”

“Thank you, Airman,” Danny said.

I did as instructed.

Danny flashed his recruiting-poster smile. “Nice to meet you, Paul. Take care of our girl.”

I chuckled.

“What’s funny?”

“You’re the second person today to tell me that.”

“She’s a special girl. And she really needs looking after.”

“Danny! I do not!”

“Thanks for dinner.” He shook my hand and opened the door.

Christy climbed out and gave him a hug.

He picked her up and held her a foot off the ground. Then he set her down and kissed her forehead.

“I love you, Sis.” He bent to look at me through the open door. “Hope to see you again.”

“You too,” I said. “And good luck when you pop the question.”

“Thanks.” He gave Christy another hug and then jumped into the waiting jeep. It backed out and sped away.

Christy climbed into the passenger seat and watched him go with a sigh.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m glad you got to meet him. I just wish he could’ve stayed longer.”

I backed out of the parking space and turned toward the gate. The airman waved us through. I pulled onto the highway back to campus. Then I glanced at Christy.

“Dating, huh?”

Her shoulders fell. “I was wondering how long before you said something.”

“You told your family we were dating?”

“Are you upset?”

“No.” I laughed. “A little surprised, but not upset.”

“That’s a relief.”

“I’m curious, though. If we aren’t dating, are we not-dating?”

“Oh, boy.”

“What exactly does that imply? Will there be any not-kissing?”

“Here we go.”

“And we should talk about not-sex.”

“You aren’t going to let me live this down, are you?”

“Well, I have lots of questions. Like, do you want to not-meet my family?

Will I not-meet the rest of yours?”

“What can I do to make you stop? Please! Anything.”

“Okay, I’ll give you a break, but just this once.”

“Thank you!”

We drove in companionable silence until I felt her mood change. I glanced at her. She was staring out the window.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

“How long has it been since May?”

“Six months.” I glanced at her again. “Thinking about Laurence?”

“Yeah. It’s been two and a half years, and I miss him like it was yesterday.”

“Come over here,” I said.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid across the seat toward me.

I put my arm around her and felt her sob. I held her until she cried herself out.

She wiped her eyes and sniffled. “I must look a mess.” She laughed feebly. “You won’t not-dump me, will you?”

“Never.”

“Does that mean ‘never’ or ‘not-never’?”

“Double negatives,” I said with disapproval. “Dangerous territory.

Especially this early in our not-relationship.”

She hugged my chest. “Thanks for coming tonight.”

“Thanks for dragooning me.”

“You and your beautiful words,” she said with a teary laugh.

I slowed and turned into the driveway. We sat in silence as she composed herself.

“I think I’m ready,” she said at last.

I nodded.

“Would you believe I’m hungry again?”

“Maybe Wren left dinner in the oven.”

“I hope so.”

She hadn’t, but she’d left us a note on the kitchen table.

Hope you had fun with Danny. It sounded like everything was fine when you left, so we went to bed. Wake us if it’s a real emergency. If not, see you in the morning. Love you both, Wren.

P.S. - Your dinner’s in the fridge if you want it. Heat for 20

minutes at 300.

“You want me to?” I asked.

“Yes, please. I’ll be right back.”

I slid a foil-covered plate into the oven. Christy returned after ten minutes or so. She’d washed her face, pinned her hair up, and put on her flannel pajamas.

“These were Laurence’s,” she explained. “I know they’re big and goofy and make me look like a little kid, but I like wearing them.”

“Makes sense. What about the bunny slippers? His too?”

“No, but he gave them to me. He used to…”

She reminisced about him and her other brothers until the timer dinged.

“Hold that thought.” I retrieved her second dinner from the oven.

“Aren’t you having anything?”

“Maybe a slice of pound cake. A small one. I’m pretty full from dinner.”

“I wish I was.”

“And I wish I had your metabolism.”

“No, you don’t. It’s a major pain. Sometimes I think I spend more time eating than sleeping.” She dug in.

I cut a slice of cake and ate about half of it.

Christy finished her dinner and then my dessert.

“You ready for bed?” I said at last.

“I think so.”

We put the plates in the sink, turned out the lights, and went upstairs. We lingered at her bedroom door.

“Thanks for all your help this afternoon,” I said.

“My pleasure.”

“I couldn’t’ve done it without you.”

“I like watching you work.”

“And I like having you there.”

“Thank you.”

“It was nice to meet Danny too.”

“I knew he’d like you.”

I grinned. “Did you really tell your family we’re dating?”

“Maybe by accident.”

“Maybe on purpose?” I chuckled. “That’s okay. I’m not upset. I… kinda like the idea.”

“You do?”

“Why so surprised?”

“I dunno… I just… I mean…”

“Shhh.” I held a finger to her lips.

She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh.

I left my finger where it was.

Her face slowly transformed with desire. Then, as though in a trance, she pursed her lips and kissed the pad of my finger. I felt her breath on my skin as she planted another languid kiss, and another. My pulse raced as my penis filled with blood when her kisses slowly turned into suckling. She pulled my finger deeper and held it gently between her teeth. Her tongue circled the tip.

I let her suck a moment longer before I slowly pulled my finger free. She swayed toward me, her lips still parted. I bent and kissed her, and she returned it hungrily. Then she moaned when I pulled her against me and our bodies curved together.

After several heartbeats we both seemed to come to our senses. I pulled back and breathed hard through my nose. She moistened her lips and looked up at me with a mixture of emotions.

“Wow,” I said after a moment.

“No kidding.”

“I didn’t see that coming.”

“Me neither.”

“But… it was nice.”

“Mmm, you’re a good kisser.” Her eyes crinkled with a smile. “And you taste like cake.”